Homeowners underwater

About one in five central Ohio homeowners owe more on their mortgage than their home is worth,
according to figures released today by the mortgage information company CoreLogic.

The company found that during the third quarter, 82,042, or 20.7 percent, of central Ohio
homeowners with mortgages were "underwater," compared to 20.1 percent during the second quarter.
Another 7.1 percent have less than 5 percent equity in their home.

Central Ohio homeowners are faring slightly better than U.S. homeowners, 22.1 percent of whom
are underwater (also referred to as "upside down"). That's down a bit from 22.5 percent during the
second quarter.

"Although slightly down, negative equity remains very high and renders many borrowers vulnerable
when negative economic shocks occur, such as job loss or illness," said Mark Fleming, chief
economist with CoreLogic.

Throughout Ohio, 22.6 percent of homeowners are upside down. Nevada, where 58 percent of
homeowners owe more than their home is worth, has the highest underwater rate in the nation,
followed by Arizona (47 percent) and Florida (44 percent).

Those states with the fewest underwater homeowners include New York (6.3 percent), North Dakota
(6.9 percent) and Oklahoma (7.3 percent). (CoreLogic does not keep data on seven small states.)